06-13-06 - Laserfiche WebLink

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P !Tt EN HILLS CITY OF ARDEN HILLS,MINNESOTA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION June 7,2006 7:30 A.M. CITY HALL -- 1245 WEST HIGHWAY 96 Chair Bruce Kunkel called the meeting to order at 7:30 a.m. Those in attendance: Chair Bruce Kunkel, Dale Beane, Rob Davidson, Jim Paulet,Nancy Kneeland, Ed Werner, Kevin Kelly, Ray McGraw, and Mayor Aplikowski. Staff. Community Development Director Karen Barton; Guest Presenter: Jim Mooney, DeSCo Solutions, Inc. Absent: Chris Ashbach Economic Development Plan Preliminary Report Jim Mooney, President of DeSCo Solutions, Inc., presented a"Developer's Packet" of information that the City would be able to provide to prospective developer's who expressed interest in Arden Hills. Mr. Mooney then presented a summary of the interviews he conducted with the Key Leaders in the City. The key issues that percolated to the top were the need to focus on business retention and the lack of identity for the city. Mr. Mooney stated that the City's primary strength is our"brain trust"; our highly educated residents. And that this is an important marketing tool and niche. Of the city's weaknesses, our biggest issues are poor transportation,with major roadways and lakes segmenting the city, and the high employee turnover in the City. Opportunities include the city's "warehouse district"behind the Holiday Inn, and our Life- Science/Bio-science business presence. The primary economic threat facing the City is development in the entire metro area,not just our immediate neighboring cities. Off the agenda, the need to maintain and improve infrastructure is of significant importance in the City. Ray McGraw stated that he felt the Council should be given a copy of these findings. Mr. Mooney stated that the next step in the process was to complete the public input process. He indicated that the Mayor's letters to the stakeholders would be mailed today, and that the survey link would be placed on the City's website on Friday afternoon. He also recommended emailing 0 the stakeholders to request their participation in the survey. Mr. Mooney said that the survey would then be open to the community at large in 2 weeks.